


When Did You Know?

by MissSalad



Category: Game of Thrones (Video Game 2014), TellTale Game of Thrones
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 05:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3597864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissSalad/pseuds/MissSalad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rodrik thinks back on his memories of Gared</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Did You Know?

It was Talia who asked, her voice so soft and sweet, “So Rodrik, when did you first know you loved Gared?” She had been the first to figure it out. Talia always had a talent for reading people, and her own brother was no exception.

Rodrik had to stop and think on it. Probably that time Gared was watching over Ryon, and Rodrik got to see just how gentle he really was. Laughing, playing, and whole-heartedly listening to every word Ryon said, no matter how nonsensical it was. When Gared blew a raspberry on Ryon's tummy, and then laughed because Ryon laughed. How the two of them seemed to cast their own light, warm and inviting like a summer’s morning.

Or that time the miller’s son chased Ethan around the stables, and Gared protected him like he was his own brother. The way Gared held his ground and stared down the miller's boy until he ran back to the mill. After when he patted Ethan's shoulder, and how he told him it's ok to be scared sometimes. That bravery isn’t all just muscle and show.

Maybe the time Gared and Asher both came barreling down the hall at Rodrik, flour in their hair and smeared across their faces, bearing grins saying "Come look at what we made."

Perhaps when Gared gave Talia a tour of Ironrath from atop his back, so she could see the place at the same height as everybody else. And how he defended her when she was scolded for being "unladylike," as if her being a little taller that day made her any less a lady. It was from that same perch that they got sweets off the top of the shelf when the cook wasn’t looking, and gave them out to the rest of the Forrester children. Gared had given Rodrik his share, saying he didn’t want any, honestly, and that Rodrik could do with being a little less serious, and a little sweeter.

Mira needed a live model for her art lessons. And Gared was the only one who didn't run away when she asked. How he so dutifully sat still for long hours. So graciously trying to be a good subject. But eventually he fell asleep, and then fell from the stool. Asher laughed himself into tears after he found out. Gared laughed with him. Mira’s sketch of Gared’s smile is still one of Rodrik’s favorites.

Rodrik thinks back to the first time they met. He had heard stories about Gared from the Castellan, but he wasn’t sure what to think of the chubby, wide-eyed boy he was introduced to that autumn day. There was dirt on his cheek, and his curly hair hadn’t been combed for at least a few days. Rodrik noticed that he didn’t seem scared, which he found odd, since many outsiders told him Ironrath looked like a scary place. They learned each other’s names, and Gared smiled so kindly at him that Rodrik was taken aback. Rodrik found out that day that he wasn’t gaining a stable hand, but a friend.

Rodrik shrugged at Talia. “It just sort of happened over time, I suppose.”


End file.
